Friday, October 30, 2015 White-crowned Sparrow

Seward, Alaska

I was searching for the reported male WILSON’S WARBLER at the red “Accentor House” at the corner of Madison and Second when I heard a buzzy “Zoo-zippety-zee-zee-zuuuuh.” It was a pretty decent rendition of a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW song for late October even though it was a bit weak and trailed off.

After a few minutes, I saw a SONG SPARROW chasing another sparrow through the leafless alder thicket. Finally, they took a break and I was able to get some photos to confirm the identity of the handsome, bright, juvenile White-crowned Sparrow.  Seward usually gets at least a few of these birds for the winter. It was nice to see one again.

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter




Thursday, October 29, 2015 Smart Song Sparrow!

Seward, Alaska



Thursday, October 29, 2015 Red-breasted Sapsucker photos

Seward, Alaska

The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER apparently relocated from Ava’s to town (unless there are two.) The handsome male drilled his sap wells in the only Mt Ash on Benson Ave, just west of North Star Circle. As long as these wells prove satisfactory, this location, conveniently located right by the road, should be a reliable place to observe him.

Note the yellow belly and yellow spots on his back that mark this bird as the northern subspecies, “ruber.”

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that was originally spotted here on Monday, has not yet been refound. These predrilled sap wells may prove irresistible, so it’s worth checking for both sapsuckers here. How fun!

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter





Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Red-breasted Sapsucker!

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:07 am, sunset 6:14 pm for a total day length of 9 hours and 6 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 17 seconds shorter. Mostly calm, high of 50º, high overcast. Rain in the forecast for the next few days.

While searching for the Palm Warbler at the Lagoon, I got a call from Ava. She had a sapsucker at close range in her yard. Had the Yellow-bellied found her place? I drove over only to see the bird disappear across the creek.
Ava showed me wonderful photos on her point and shoot of a male RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER. The yellow wash on its belly marks it as the northern subspecies, “ruber.”

Later in the afternoon, Ava called again to say she hadn’t seen the Sapsucker, but a solo female RED CROSSBILL showed up. We haven’t any crossbills for several months.

As another storm moves in from the Gulf, it may bring even more unusual birds to Seward and South-central.

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Monday, October 26, 2015 Rare Birds!

Seward, Alaska

The adventure started on Sunday for birder Luke DeCicco of Anchorage who was simply hiking back from a nice weekend at the Alaska State Parks Callisto Canyon public use cabin in Caines Head State Recreation Area south of Seward.

Close to the cabin, he spotted a Flycatcher actively hawking insects from various perches and got excellent looks at the cooperative bird. Luke identified it as a WILLOW FLYCATCHER, a rare bird listed as “casual” with less than a dozen verified sightings in Alaska. Much to his dismay, he did not have a camera to document the sighting.

Undeterred, Luke drove back to Anchorage, and accompanied by his camera and Scott Schuette, drove down to Seward on Monday morning. The public use cabin is only accessible by water, or by an intertidal Coastal Trail. The 12.7' high tide was at 12:52 pm, so the daring duo had several hours to wait for the tide to recede and uncover the beach trail.

Time to bird Seward! First exciting bird: a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER at Benson and North Star in a Mt Ash. No sap wells were seen, and the bird flew off. This rare bird is also listed as “casual”.

On my way to try to find the sapsucker, I chanced on Luke standing along Dairy Hill Lane by the Lagoon. I pulled up, he pointed into the alders and willows, and I hopped out to see a Life Bird, a WESTERN PALM WARBLER! First Palm Warbler for Seward, and probably for the Eastern Kenai Peninsula. Very exciting find! The bird proved elusive, but did pop up briefly a few more times. 

A NORTHERN SHRIKE nearby, harassed by a couple of BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, probably did not help. It’s a dangerous, scary world for a lost bird without any buddies.

Scott flushed a WILSON’S SNIPE from the nearby wetlands. Another Snipe has been reported at mile 3.5 recently. Very late for these shorebirds. Scott also found a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER and a LINCOLN’S SPARROW with a mixed flock of CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, and DARK-EYED JUNCOS on a subsequent walk around town, between Madison and Adams, in the alley between First and Second Avenues. 

PACIFIC WRENS were heard or seen frequently; a ROBIN sang sweetly at the top of a cottonwood. PINE GROSBEAKS flew over and called melodiously.

At one point, I spread sunflower seeds from a handy little container in my pocket onto my outstretched palm and instantly attracted nearby Chestnut-backed Chickadees and a Red-breasted Nuthatch that took turns at the mobile bird feeder. What a thrill to feel their tiny feet on my fingers and look into their bright, curious eyes!

As the tide began to ebb, Luke and Scott headed for the Tonsina Trailhead at Lowell Point and starting hiking south along the 2.1 mile Tonsina Trail to the south end of Tonsina Point. By 3 pm, the tide had receded just enough for them to start hiking along the Coastal Trail on the slippery beach rocks.

Meanwhile, I was lucky to catch a ride with friends on a boat to Callisto Canyon. I was dropped off at 3:40 pm and started checking the dry stream by the cabin, surrounded by silent spruce festooned with green moss. After about 20 minutes when I reached flowing water without spotting a single bird, I called Luke. He and Scott had hiked the remaining 2.5 miles and were almost there! I turned back to meet them along the beach. Scott decided to scout the stream while Luke searched the leafless thickets of salmonberries and elderberries near the beach.

At 4:23 pm he spotted the WILLOW FLYCATCHER! It flew up a short distance to grab a flying insect, and went immediately back into the brush. Luke miraculously managed to get some decent photos in the dim light and obscuring branches. Yea!

Scott rushed over, but the bird was not to be found. We waited, listening and watching all along the beach as the daylight seeped away. Despite our best efforts, the bird was not to be found.

At 6:30 pm, when all hopes were dashed by the deepening dusk, we complied a list of birds for the Callisto Canyon Cabin journal:
Willow Flycatcher!, Harlequin Ducks, Surf Scoters, Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Horned Grebes, Pelagic Cormorants, Bald Eagle, Black-legged Kittiwakes,
Glauous-winged Gulls, Common Murres, Belted Kingfisher, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Ravens, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Pacific Wren,
Golden-crowned Kinglets, Song Sparrow, Pine Grosbeaks.

It was dark by 7 pm when we spotted the green and red running lights of my friend’s boat zooming around the point. Dead low tide of -1.5' made for a tricky landing and departure, but after some effort, we were once again afloat and heading back to the lights of Seward, quite relieved not to have to hike back 4.6 miles in the dark.

I then dropped Luke and Scott off at the Tonsina Trailhead parking lot, and off they went, back to Anchorage, 120 miles away. Quite an exciting day and a wonderful adventure!

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward, Alaska














Saturday, October 24, 2015 Around town

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9 am, sunset 6:22 pm for a total day length of 9 hours and 22 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 19 seconds shorter.

Rain and more rain, in spurts and squalls and downpours. High of 45º, calm. More clouds and rain in the forecast until Thursday.

In between the rains, I got out for a little birding this afternoon, stopping first along Waterfront Park. Highlights included about 10 FORK-TAILED STORM PETRELS sweeping over the flat bay, several COMMON MERGANSERS, PELAGIC CORMORANTS, and HARLEQUINS feeding close to shore.

NW CROWS flew their vertical loops as they pried mollusks such as blue mussels and chitons from the intertidal rocks, flew up to drop them, and hurtled down to eat them before another crow snatched the morsel.

I found a neat little Crow pellet deposited on the railing of the Scheffler Creek Bridge. It resembled a small spruce cone at a glance, but a closer look revealed bits of those blue mussel and chiton shells mixed with seaweed and other inedibles.

Two dark SONG SPARROWS called out from the streamside where they explored the rocks.

An interesting trio of large gulls staked out their spot near the beach. The first gull, a HERRING GULL, had black primaries with white spots on the tips. The third gull, a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL had a uniform pale gray mantle and primaries. And standing in between with its intermediate characteristics, was a HERRING GULL X GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL hybrid with dark gray primaries with white spots on the tips. The light wasn’t great, but the Glaucous-winged Gull eyes looked darker, not bright yellow like the other two.

Over at the Lagoon, a dozen MALLARDS squabbled and squawked in the salmon stream outlet, feasting on eggs. If this species were less common, I think we’d appreciate it more. The drake is indeed, a very handsome duck!

A few aging salmon dashed past, but I could not determine if they were Reds or Silvers. This late in the season, Silvers are more likely. I hope to get a better view on a drier day.

Back home, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, and a BROWN CREEPER swept through the front yard, calling excitedly, perhaps also glad for the reprieve from those heavy raindrops.

The beauty of birding is that the birds don’t have to be rare or extraordinary to be interesting and appreciated. They simply are.

Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter